San Diego has an exclusion problem

Not everyone is enjoying San Diego’s surging economy. Indeed, if anything, our ever-increasing innovation sector is only worsening inequality and exclusivity.

That’s according to the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, which wants to address and reverse these worrisome trends.

“Despite record-low unemployment and a renowned innovation ecosystem, San Diego has an inclusion problem that cannot be ignored,” said Mark Cafferty, president and CEO of the San Diego regional EDC. “Small businesses cannot compete with larger corporations, while one million people cannot afford to live here. This initiative is a call to action for San Diego’s employers – we must come together to bridge the gaps in our economy.”

Take for example our Hispanic population. Eighty-five percent of Hispanics don’t have college degrees, according to an EDC report called “The Future of Growth in San Diego: The Economic Case for Inclusion.” More than one-third — 34 percent — don’t finish high school.

From the report: “Hispanics are the fastest growing population and statistically the least prepared for high-skilled, high-wage jobs.”

In comparison, the percentage of the white population with college degrees is nearly 50 percent.

The report also found that small businesses — those employing fewer than 100 — are facing challenges and pay 20 percent lower wages as compared to larger businesses. Because of that, they can’t attract the same kind of talent as the larger companies.

And because San Diego has the fourth highest cost of living in the nation — particularly because of housing —one million San Diegans can’t afford to make ends meet, the EDC said.

These three “pain points” need to be addressed if the region is to remain competitive, the EDC said.

The EDC is seeking to close the minority achievement gap, equip small businesses to compete and address the affordability crisis.

To do so, it’s putting together a steering committee of local employers to create an actionable platform to meet the above goals. The committee consists of nearly 40 local employers including Northrop Grumman, Solar Turbines, Sempra, Thermo Fisher Scientific, San Diego Padres and more.

“Inclusion is not a philanthropy issue. This is about economic competitiveness, and San Diego’s employers must lead the charge in addressing inequity in our local workforce,” said Janice Brown, founder and owner, Brown Law Group, and incoming board chair, of the San Diego Regional EDC. “But if any region can change and reinvent itself, it’s this one.”

Over the next year, EDC and the Steering Committee will produce ongoing research and develop actionable recommendations to inclusive economic development in San Diego that will be updated on sandiegobusiness.org/inclusivegrowth.